For those not familiar CMMS or Computerized Maintenance Management System it is a software that runs on servers that allows you to maintain a database of information about your organizations maintenance operations. The software can track things such as when was the last time routine maintenance was performed on a system to how many spare parts your organization may have lying around in the warehouse. A CMMS is typically implemented one of two ways. There is what is called a desktop or network implementation and the web-based implementation. We will briefly mention both styles of implementations and then spend a little time providing the pros to why the web based implementation may be a better choice than a desktop based implementation.

The desktop or network implementation of CMMS software refers to the approach that the servers that the software runs on are local, or is under the ownership and maintenance of your organization. Typically these servers will be housed at your organizations corporate headquarters and will be under the umbrella of support by your organizations IT department. A major disadvantage to a desktop or network approach is the high start up costs that are required to implement this design. The high start up costs are due to the fact that your organization is responsible to purchase the server hardware required to handle the CMMS software. Another disadvantage to a desktop approach is that you can typically only access the CMMS software when you are on your organizations intranet, or local network. You cannot access the CMMS from the internet.

The second approach is called the web-based implementation of CMMS or CMMS hosting. The typical way a web-based approach works is exactly that, web-based. This means that your organization pays a 3rd party that owns that hardware and the servers that the CMMS software is running on. A great advantage to the web-based CMMS approach is that you can access your database from virtually anywhere in the world! All you need, assuming you have the correct logon credentials, is an internet connection. Another great advantage to a web-based CMMS is that your organization is not responsible for the maintenance and support of the hardware servers that the CMMS servers run on. When a server has a hardware failure, and the server will eventually fail, your organization does not have to worry about the costs of purchasing new hardware, and paying the IT group to fix the issue. You pay to have web access and leave the support to someone else.

Stuart Smith writes about Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) Solutions for Mintek Mobile Data Solutions. Learn more about EAM/CMMS features that can help your business navigate through tough economic times.

When it comes to enterprise asset management there are some things you need to keep in mind when you are trying to figure out whether or not it you would benefit from it. Think about it this way, EAM can make a difference in the success of your company in a way you never thought possible.

For example, to run a factory you need to know what the expenses are that you are going to have to deal with. When you are not sure what your monthly expenses are on running operations, maintenance, and everything else you are not going to make a profit. Even if you do have an understanding of all of that you need to know more details about the expenses if you have any hopes of keeping costs down. Raising prices will cost you customers. Firing employees will hurt production and therefore cost you customers. So the only way to truly cut costs is to make sure you know where you are wasting money and that’s what enterprise asset management can help you to do.

An example of this would be a company that makes and ships soda. There are literally hundreds of machines that handle the creation of the soda, the bottling and the shipping. All these machines need to be maintained by people and those people need to be managed. The idea is that in order to be a successful company you would need to charge enough per soda to make a respectable profit. That means the machines are vital to the company’s success because they contribute or handle all phases of the creation and shipping of the project. So having an understanding of everything from the basic maintenance of a machine to how many people need to be on the floor to make sure everything is running smoothly could be the difference between a struggling company or a profitable company.

In business we tend to think the most important thing is how we market ourselves, but we forget it starts with the quality of work we do in our own factories. That’s where asset management software can give you a serious advantage. It can help you to analyze your company’s production, figure out where you can spend less money and remain productive and where you need to spend more money. Believe it or not there are areas of your business where you can spend more money and it may actually save you money overall. An example of this would be the maintenance of your dozens or even hundreds of machines that are in your factory.

Asset management software can help you to determine if you will keep the machines running longer and better if you put more money into making sure they are routinely maintained. If it cost $500 and a days’ worth of work to maintain a machine each month isn’t that better than the $6,000 and weeks’ worth of work it will take to repair it every six months? That’s the kind of thing we do not consider when trying to figure out how to run a factory but this software can help you with that and give the ability to improve your business from the inside out.

Evaluation, Selection and Justification of CMMS

Recently, eMaint Enterprises invited Ralph “Pete” Peters, President of Maintenance Excellence Institute, to deliver a Free Best Practices Webinar on evaluating and cost justifying a CMMS. Ralph drew from a real life case study that featured Argentina’s largest steel maker, SIDERAR, to document the CMMS evaluation/selection process as well as projected benefits and ROI.

Ralph began by outlining the overall strategy for gaining maximum value from a CMMS:

Determine the true need for CMMS

Determine maintenance best practices

The CMMS evaluation and selection process

Clearly defining CMMS functional requirements

Commitment to maintenance Best Practice implementation

Use the CMMS implementation process to measure your progress.

To evaluate and compare CMMS systems, each organization must consider 5 factors:

Functional Requirements

Technical Requirements

Software Costs

Implemenation/Support

Qualitative Factors

After the selection and evaluation process, it is vital to cost justify the implementation of a CMMS with four important measures:

Craft Productivity Improvement

MRO Inventory Reduction

Value of increased Uptime/Capactiy

Major Projects completed sooner

However, it is always important to remember that one can not simply install a CMMS and expect resuslts, best practices must also be implemented and followed company-wide.

To dig deeper into the evaluation, selection and justification of CMMS, click here to watch the recording of the above webinar.

Asset management has been around for decades and is now considered a mature industry. But, that’s all changing with the evolution—transition, if you like—of the technology and the inclusion of energy, automation, and business intelligence (BI) to really have an impact on your operational, financial, and energy efficiency performance.

Infor’s John Murphy, director of Solutions Management, sat down with the editor from Manufacturing Business Technology in this interview to discuss the latest tools, technologies, and strategies that companies are implementing to get a holistic view of all of their assets and how they’re using this real-time information to manage their assets more efficiently.

“More and more of our customers are moving toward incorporating advanced reliability and risk management techniques,” said Murphy. “They are trying to make better use of real-time information, including energy usage, to help them understand the health and financial performance of equipment. Turning the wealth of real-time information into intelligence is not easy, but when done right provides companies with an accurate perspective on when the equipment performance is starting to degrade, so that they can respond at the right time.”

John also touches on asset management in the cloud, reliability, and mobile technology, and where maintenance management practices are heading in the future.

These days, when someone says the word “green”, they probably aren’t just talking about the color of your sweater. “Green” and “Going Green” have become the buzzwords du jour for organizations looking to maximize sustainability within their operation. The move to be green is more than just a fad or buzzword, but rather a key component of an effective maintenance operation. A crucial stop on the path to sustainability and becoming “green” is in the implementation of an Enterprise Asset Management / Computerized Maintenance Management System (EAM/CMMS). When used and implemented to high standards, maintenance software can be the most powerful tool in your belt on the path to sustainability.

The proof is in the numbers: U.S. companies spend over $100 billion annually on capital equipment and related services. In terms of energy spending, that number quadruples to $400 billion annually, and that number continues to rise. In a typical manufacturing operation, the highest cost next to personnel is energy. Clearly, it is critical to effectively track and manage energy consumption to remain competitive, and this is where EAM/CMMS comes in.

Energy Utilization

EAM/CMMS provide several quality tools that, when used effectively, allow for more granular tracking of energy consumption. With countless levels of criteria available, and the ability to correlate those criteria to how much energy is being consumed, energy utilization monitoring is simple and detailed. For example, the ability to determine how much energy is being consumed for an individual asset, manufacturer, or Preventive Maintenance (PM) history is available through a CMMS.

The level of detail produced allows for better decision making, such as determining whether it is cost effective to replace an older asset that is consuming a lot of energy with one that is newer and more energy efficient. Imagine being able to determine that an asset from Manufacturer A is consuming more energy than the same type of asset from Manufacturer B. Replacing those energy-hogging assets from Manufacturer A can result in less energy consumption and greater cost savings.

Energy consumption can be logged and detailed using Building Monitoring Systems, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) applications and other specialized monitoring equipment that interfaces with the CMMS to create a tightly wound monitoring and corrective action system.

Condition-based monitoring is another important piece to utilizing a CMMS to reaching high levels of sustainability in asset management. Triggering corrective work orders, notifications, and even preventive maintenance schedules based on the level of energy being consumed is something that can greatly reduce energy utilization of given assets. These conditions are user-definable, meaning the level of flexibility is high. Minimum and maximum values are set, and based on those conditions, corrective actions are triggered. Condition-based monitoring is particularly notable in preventive maintenance. Triggering a preventive maintenance action based on a level of usage, like run-time hours, can greatly increase the overall efficiency of a PM program.

Going Green = Going Paperless

Becoming a more green and sustainable maintenance operation is not solely dependent on monitoring energy consumption. Moving away from paper and into an electronic platform greatly enhances efficiency and decreases costs. The cost of paper, storage of paper, creating an efficient filing method, and time spent filing are all greatly reduced with an electronic platform for the creation, distribution and completion of maintenance work assignments.

To be truly paperless, implementing a mobile platform is essential. With a mobile application of the CMMS attached to the tool belt of technicians and supervisors alike, the CMMS becomes easy to access and even easier to use. Work flow becomes timelier, as all parties involved have faster access to more timely data, which in turn decreases average response time to repair requests. Critical documents can be attached to work requests and accessed from anywhere, which saves the time and hassle of finding a document stored in endless file cabinets and binders of information.

Distribution of forms turns into the click of a button, and can appear instantly on the designated recipient’s handheld device. The recipient can perform a number of tasks, including further distribution, adjustments, associating inventory, and even completing and closing the assignment with time spent, parts used, and a detailed labor report, all without ever touching a sheet of paper or picking up a pen. The completed work is stored as history instantly, and any data entered can be queried using the CMMS reporting mechanism. Time is of the essence to ensure assignments are being completed and any enhancement to productivity, while also decreasing on the number of trees required to do so, are all benefits of a paperless work flow through a CMMS mobile tool. This allows for machines to stay running and sustainability to increase.

Reporting is another area of a maintenance operation that can greatly benefit from going green and paperless. There are an array of features and functions in any quality CMMS that help satisfy the needs of regulatory bodies from every industry. As regulatory bodies increase the need for compliance via more frequent audits and required reports, the importance of having a centralized, organized, and paperless storage system for work history becomes increasingly important. JCAHO in healthcare, ISO in manufacturing, and Sarbanes Oxley for accounting in many industries all allow for the submission of electronic reports detailing the necessary compliance to standards set by the respective regulatory body.

Having the ability to query electronically stored data into an electronic report becomes a few key strokes, rather than a painful and exhaustive process of collecting and filtering data on endless paper into a comprehensive history report. This increases productivity and, because it is paperless, saves on printing costs while implementing sustainable practices. With flexibility a CMMS reporting tool provides, users can create reports from a myriad of data sets easily and efficiently, all while maintaining a level of detail suitable to relevant regulatory requirements.

For more information about implementing this type of solution using CMMS, visit www.maintenanceconnection.com. Or contact Scott Lasher at Maintenance Connection via sales@maintenanceconnection.com or (888) 567-3434 x1.

These days many companies are scaling back on expenditures of any kind. And, why not? It just makes sense. Obviously, the severe economic downturn has impacted organizations across the United States and the Globe. Capital conservation has become the rule and cutbacks are inevitable. Yet, this is the just the kind of environment that completely justifies investment in Computerized Maintenance Management Software for organizations seeking to lower costs and protect vital plant and equipment assets. That’s your responsibility, right?

Less Downtime – Simple: Decreased downtime means increased production. A 1% improvement in productivity has 10 times the positive impact than a 1% reduction in costs. Imagine the gain in a production facility running 24 hours per day: A conservative estimated gain of 24 hours of production per year pours thousands of dollars to the bottom line. Savings estimate: Downtime cost of $2,500/Hour x 24 Hours = $60,000 annual profit increase.

Reduced Inventory– Elementary: Asset maintenance management allows you purchase inventory and parts when you need them instead of relying on guesswork. Without CMMS Software, managers might not know what is in their stockroom, can’t find what they need and, frequently end up buying parts they already have. Of course, CMMS Software allows you to lookup parts, check stock and order only as needed. Savings estimate: Reducing an $800,000 inventory just 10% with a 10% interest rate results in an annual savings of over $8,000 in an annual profit increase.

Eliminate Contractor Costs – Smart: Managed maintenance keeps repairs in-house using a more efficient work crew. CMMS Software focuses crew time on work orders designed to keep the plant moving. Result? No maintenance logjams requiring expensive contractor time. This outcome creates not only a savings on labor but also a savings on parts! Savings estimate: Using a realistic 10% annual reduction in labor and material costs on a budget of $680,000 you return another $68,000 to the bottom line.

2 – Increase Maintenance Productivity Right Now – Better work planning and scheduling maximizes crew efficiency while focusing crew time on work orders designed to keep the plant moving. Productivity increases of 10% to 20% using modern CMMS Software are standard. Maintenance managers know that saving just 60 minutes (12.5%) per day for each worker in a six-person crew at a $30/hr labor rate for 250 days/year can preserve $45,000 annually for the organization.

When implemented properly, a Computerized Maintenance Management System using CMMS Software can be a huge cost and time saving addition to your organization’s bottom line. Isn’t that what your objective is?

I do quite a bit of training on MP2 CMMS across North America. As I visit sites and work with maintenance teams, there are some similaritieis worth sharing. Regardless of whether the maintenance business I am working with is tasked to maintain assets within either Manufacturing or Facilities, the underlying challenges remain similar.

My point today is to stress that maintenance improvements can be realized WAY before CMMS is installed and configured. In fact, without some diligent planning before a CMMS is purchased and implemented, there is a pretty good chance you won’t have a clue HOW to configure the CMMS system you just dropped hard-earned budget dollars into.

Here are some simple steps to maintenance improvements (at a high level):

Define current maintenance processes

Brainstorm ideas on how to improve current maintenance processes

Draw up a plan for future maintenance processes

Evaluate and purchase a CMMS that will serve as a tool with all the bells and whistles required to meet your future maintenance processes

Configure the new CMMS to match your new maintenance processes

Set a timetable to transition into the new maintenance processes

These steps are simplified and presented at a high level to highlight my point that CMMS is only part of the required process.

CMMS Advice is a blog dedicated to centralizing information for folks interested in learning more about CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software), or on a larger scale EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) Software. The format of this blog will be a free-form mixture of opinions, articles and whitepapers with CMMS or EAM as the central common thread. This blog is being powered and funded by Software Net ( www.software-directory.net ) and specifically the CMMS category, also represented on the web by the CMMS Resource Center ( www.cmms-directory.com ), the original CMMS internet directory (www.cmmsglobal.com) and the latest CMMS informational portal for “All Things EAM / CMMS” ( www.eamuniversity.com ). Please send suggestions for future expansion areas. We are cooking up some ideas of our own !